Rally Sweden 12th - 14th February 2016
A THIRD FOR OGIER AS WINTER LEAVES IT LATE
Leg 1 - There were doubts that the rally could take place due to the likely damage the lack of snow over the winter would cause to the roads that formed the stages. The organisers produced an amended schedule, chopping seven stages before the rally got underway - including the event opening Karlstad Superspecial. Friday started with the first run of the Torsby stage, the crews then spent the bulk of the day across the border in Norway before finishing off with a second pass through Torsby. The Norwegian stages were at a higher altitude so there was a reasonable covering of snow on them thus allowing most of the full schedule to be followed, with just the two runs of the short Kirkenær stage cancelled. The opening stage, SS2 Torsby 1, had been heavily watered by the organisers to encourage ice to form on the surface and it was Sébastien Ogier who coped best to go 0.3 seconds quicker than team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, whilst Kris Meeke slotted into third. Ogier's rapid pace continued throughout the morning as he won the next two stages also to open up a 24.2-second gap by the lunchtime regroup ahead of Mikkelsen and Meeke - who sat 4.5 seconds behind the Norwegian. Snow started to fall heavily during the afternoon loop, giving an advantage to those running further back on the road. On SS7, Svullrya 2, Meeke carved 7.7 seconds out of Ogier's lead to promote him into second place, helped by Mikkelsen losing nearly half a minute with a spin. The charge of Meeke was short-lived, however, as on the following stage, SS8 Röjden 2, he damaged his steering on a rock to put him out for the day, his split times showing that he was likely to take the lead on the stage... Hayden Paddon, another crew lower down the start order, moved into second place and he would then go fastest on SS8 and SS9, Torsby 2, to sit 26.9 seconds behind leader Ogier. New Zealander Paddon had taken 18.8 seconds from Ogier during the afternoon so the Frenchman had real concerns about hanging on to his lead on Saturday, the road order staying the same as Friday. Mads Østberg finished the day in third as 15.1 seconds covered second to sixth positions. The third Volkswagen Polo WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala had a disastrous Friday, driveshaft failure on SS2 left him with rear-wheel drive only for the rest of the leg before broken suspension in SS9 ended his day.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:03:10.6
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +26.9
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC +33.7
4. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +34.8
5. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +38.2
6. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC +42.0
Leg 2 - Saturday had three stages cut from the scheduled eight, one run each of Rämmen and Fredriksberg plus the one go at the Hagfors Sprint stage. Ogier started the day in the best possible fashion by winning SS10, Fredriksberg, adding 5.5 seconds to his lead over Paddon. However, on the following test, SS12 Vargåsen 1, Paddon hacked a huge 23.6 seconds out of the world champion's margin to sit a threatening 8.8 seconds behind. That was as close as the Hyundai man would get across the three remaining stages of the day after Ogier took some big risks to end the day 17.1 seconds clear, which included surviving a massive moment at high speed during a flat-out charge through SS14, Vargåsen 2, which yielded the fastest time and a wide-eyed co-driver! Østberg clung on to third from fellow Norwegian Mikkelsen, despite the Volkswagen getting ahead on the day's opener after a moment for the Fiesta crew. Østberg reclaimed the spot on the next stage before an off-road excursion for Mikkelsen on SS14 meant that he trailed the Ford by 25.1 seconds at day's end.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:52:04.7
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +17.1
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC +42.3
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC +1:07.4
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:31.6
6. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:56.3
Leg 3 - With two of the day's scheduled four stages already cancelled, a third - SS20 Lesjöfors, was canned on Saturday to leave just one stage to finalise the result, the Värmullsåsen Powerstage. Ogier sailed through the stage to claim the three bonus points for fastest time ahead of his team-mate Mikkelsen, with Thierry Neuville third fastest. The margin between each of the top six runners meant that the stage had little bearing on the overall result, Ogier sealing his third victory in Sweden by 29.8 seconds. There was a late scare for Paddon, however, when he damaged the radiator on his i20 WRC after clipping a post near the end of the stage but was able to nurse the car along the final road section to the finish.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:59:47.4
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:00:17.2 +29.8
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:00:43.0 +55.6 +25.8
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:00:58.2 +1:10.8 +15.2
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:01:38.1 +1:50.7 +39.9
6. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:02:11.4 +2:24.7 +33.3
7. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:02:27.4 +2:40.0 +16.0
8. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:02:32.0 +2:44.6 +4.6
9. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry - Ford Fiesta R5 2:05:04.4 +5:17.0 +2:32.4
10. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Škoda Fabia R5 2:05:19.0 +5:31.6 +14.6
Ogier quote - "So happy to come back here with another victory. I mean, I love this rally in Sweden. We have terrible conditions at the beginning of the week, the weather turned a bit, the organisers did a really great job and, at the end, we had a really nice weekend here in Sweden. So, very happy!"
Leg 1 - There were doubts that the rally could take place due to the likely damage the lack of snow over the winter would cause to the roads that formed the stages. The organisers produced an amended schedule, chopping seven stages before the rally got underway - including the event opening Karlstad Superspecial. Friday started with the first run of the Torsby stage, the crews then spent the bulk of the day across the border in Norway before finishing off with a second pass through Torsby. The Norwegian stages were at a higher altitude so there was a reasonable covering of snow on them thus allowing most of the full schedule to be followed, with just the two runs of the short Kirkenær stage cancelled. The opening stage, SS2 Torsby 1, had been heavily watered by the organisers to encourage ice to form on the surface and it was Sébastien Ogier who coped best to go 0.3 seconds quicker than team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen, whilst Kris Meeke slotted into third. Ogier's rapid pace continued throughout the morning as he won the next two stages also to open up a 24.2-second gap by the lunchtime regroup ahead of Mikkelsen and Meeke - who sat 4.5 seconds behind the Norwegian. Snow started to fall heavily during the afternoon loop, giving an advantage to those running further back on the road. On SS7, Svullrya 2, Meeke carved 7.7 seconds out of Ogier's lead to promote him into second place, helped by Mikkelsen losing nearly half a minute with a spin. The charge of Meeke was short-lived, however, as on the following stage, SS8 Röjden 2, he damaged his steering on a rock to put him out for the day, his split times showing that he was likely to take the lead on the stage... Hayden Paddon, another crew lower down the start order, moved into second place and he would then go fastest on SS8 and SS9, Torsby 2, to sit 26.9 seconds behind leader Ogier. New Zealander Paddon had taken 18.8 seconds from Ogier during the afternoon so the Frenchman had real concerns about hanging on to his lead on Saturday, the road order staying the same as Friday. Mads Østberg finished the day in third as 15.1 seconds covered second to sixth positions. The third Volkswagen Polo WRC of Jari-Matti Latvala had a disastrous Friday, driveshaft failure on SS2 left him with rear-wheel drive only for the rest of the leg before broken suspension in SS9 ended his day.
Top 6 after Leg 1
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:03:10.6
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +26.9
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC +33.7
4. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +34.8
5. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +38.2
6. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC +42.0
Leg 2 - Saturday had three stages cut from the scheduled eight, one run each of Rämmen and Fredriksberg plus the one go at the Hagfors Sprint stage. Ogier started the day in the best possible fashion by winning SS10, Fredriksberg, adding 5.5 seconds to his lead over Paddon. However, on the following test, SS12 Vargåsen 1, Paddon hacked a huge 23.6 seconds out of the world champion's margin to sit a threatening 8.8 seconds behind. That was as close as the Hyundai man would get across the three remaining stages of the day after Ogier took some big risks to end the day 17.1 seconds clear, which included surviving a massive moment at high speed during a flat-out charge through SS14, Vargåsen 2, which yielded the fastest time and a wide-eyed co-driver! Østberg clung on to third from fellow Norwegian Mikkelsen, despite the Volkswagen getting ahead on the day's opener after a moment for the Fiesta crew. Østberg reclaimed the spot on the next stage before an off-road excursion for Mikkelsen on SS14 meant that he trailed the Ford by 25.1 seconds at day's end.
Top 6 after Leg 2
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:52:04.7
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC +17.1
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC +42.3
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC +1:07.4
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC +1:31.6
6. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC +1:56.3
Leg 3 - With two of the day's scheduled four stages already cancelled, a third - SS20 Lesjöfors, was canned on Saturday to leave just one stage to finalise the result, the Värmullsåsen Powerstage. Ogier sailed through the stage to claim the three bonus points for fastest time ahead of his team-mate Mikkelsen, with Thierry Neuville third fastest. The margin between each of the top six runners meant that the stage had little bearing on the overall result, Ogier sealing his third victory in Sweden by 29.8 seconds. There was a late scare for Paddon, however, when he damaged the radiator on his i20 WRC after clipping a post near the end of the stage but was able to nurse the car along the final road section to the finish.
Top 10 Results
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia - Volkswagen Polo WRC 1:59:47.4
2. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:00:17.2 +29.8
3. Mads Østberg/Ola Fløene - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:00:43.0 +55.6 +25.8
4. Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jæger - Volkswagen Polo WRC 2:00:58.2 +1:10.8 +15.2
5. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:01:38.1 +1:50.7 +39.9
6. Dani Sordo/Marc Martí - Hyundai i20 WRC 2:02:11.4 +2:24.7 +33.3
7. Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor - Ford Fiesta WRC 2:02:27.4 +2:40.0 +16.0
8. Craig Breen/Scott Martin - Citroën DS3 WRC 2:02:32.0 +2:44.6 +4.6
9. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry - Ford Fiesta R5 2:05:04.4 +5:17.0 +2:32.4
10. Teemu Sunninen/Mikko Markkula - Škoda Fabia R5 2:05:19.0 +5:31.6 +14.6
Ogier quote - "So happy to come back here with another victory. I mean, I love this rally in Sweden. We have terrible conditions at the beginning of the week, the weather turned a bit, the organisers did a really great job and, at the end, we had a really nice weekend here in Sweden. So, very happy!"
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WRC2 - M-Sport Fiesta R5 pilot Elfyn Evans made it two wins from two WRC2 starts in 2016 by sealing a 14.7-second victory from a determined Pontus Tidemand, who was 42.5 seconds down on Friday night - the works Škoda driver recovering from a broken driveshaft on the opening day. The Swede's Škoda teammate Esapekka Lappi stole third from Anders Grøndal with a mighty time through the SS21 Powerstage, Värmullsåsen. The Finn had clawed his way back up the order after an off on Friday in SS8, Röjden 2. After briefly leading the category on Friday morning, Fredrik Åhlin's event ended with a bump on Saturday when he tore a wheel off of his Fiesta R5 in SS16, Vargåsen 2. An impressive drive was put in by the non-registered Teemu Suninen, the privateer Fabia R5 pilot defeated the works Škodas to finish between Evans and Tidemand.
1. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry - Ford Fiesta R5 2:05:04.4
2. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:05:19.1 +14.7
3. Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm - Škoda Fabia R5 2:06:55.3 +1:50.9 +1:36.2
1. Elfyn Evans/Craig Parry - Ford Fiesta R5 2:05:04.4
2. Pontus Tidemand/Jonas Andersson - Škoda Fabia R5 2:05:19.1 +14.7
3. Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm - Škoda Fabia R5 2:06:55.3 +1:50.9 +1:36.2
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WRC3 - Lone WRC3 contender Michel Fabre lasted the distance to claim the spoils in his Citroën DS3 R3T Max.
1. Michel Fabre/Maxime Vilmot - Citroën DS3 R3T Max 2:41:39.5
Rally Sweden Historic
Unsurprisingly, the Historic element of the rally was cancelled due to the lack of snow.
1. Michel Fabre/Maxime Vilmot - Citroën DS3 R3T Max 2:41:39.5
Rally Sweden Historic
Unsurprisingly, the Historic element of the rally was cancelled due to the lack of snow.